


Hex

by EvilMuffins



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fire Emblem Fusion, M/M, Persona 5 Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-05-31 23:42:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15130322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilMuffins/pseuds/EvilMuffins
Summary: “My apologies…” Yusuke murmured, as if he had placed the slime on the stones personally. However, although his mind knew that he should push himself up and trudge back to his tent in order to change into something dry, his body was decidedly frozen, motionless in the clear water, draped across a moderately suspicious Plegian mage.---Yusuke finds himself less than thrilled when a certain dark mage intrudes upon his tent late one afternoon.





	Hex

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AlternateCode](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlternateCode/gifts).



> Written for P5 Secret Santa/Xmas in July (which I mod~)

The Plegians were an odd lot, and while Yusuke was well aware of the fact that this was a standard case of a crow calling the raven black, after one month of fighting alongside Akechi, his initial assessment still stood.

“Have you ever considered undergoing a reclass?” chimed a now-familiar voice at the flap to Yusuke’s tent, left open in order to avoid another episode involving paint fumes.

“Perhaps you might consider not barging into private quarters,” Yusuke retorted, frowning at the stray streak of orange angrily infringing upon the space otherwise occupied by the blue of the ocean cascading across his canvas. Did the concept of solitude simply not exist in Plegia?

“Forgive me,” Akechi chuckled, the smile playing across his lips irritatingly similar to the one he had used when first blackmailing his way into the army during that grueling trek through the desert. “I simply happened to be passing through, and noticed the flap was open. I meant to keep on my way, but your skill in painting is nothing short of hypnotic, if I’m being perfectly honest. I couldn’t help but find myself wondering if it might function something akin to that school of dance they teach over in Regna Ferox.”

Yusuke snorted softly, placing his brush down on the easel. While Ryuji had kindly pointed out the impracticality of dragging it along from one encampment to the next, Yusuke was fairly certain that he would have gone mad long ago without it. It wasn’t as if he were good for much else, after all. While his hand at the sword was passable- in his opinion, at the least- his luck on the battlefield was abysmal, constantly causing undue wear on Takemi’s staves. “I hardly imagine that my paintings would have the power to rejuvenate to that extent… and I can’t say that I am particulary adept at dance.”

“Have you ever considered trying your hand at magic, in that case?” Akechi pressed further, allowing himself into the tent while picking his way through the maze of open cases and satchels, most of which overflowed with enough art supplies to have fed the entire army for a month, should they have been pawned off at market.

“Of the variety they employ over in Plegia?” Yusuke stood, retrieving his brush to swish around in a bucket of soapy water. “No thank you.”

As he turned his focus toward drying the brush in a piece of cloth, Akechi grew uncharacteristically silent for long enough that Yusuke couldn’t help but spare him a glance.

A string of silent words formed across Akechi’s supple lips, an accompanying gesture dancing through his delicate fingers.

Yusuke had heard snatches of conversation around town once while out on a supply run together, of how Akechi had been something of a local celebrity around his homeland. If the rumors were true, he somehow utilized his considerable skill in magic to solve crimes, bringing bandits and the like to justice.

Akechi’s face certainly didn’t hurt matters, either. It was impossible for a normal human to have such translucent skin- not to mention impeccable bone structure- without the use of enchantments and potions, wasn’t it? On the other hand, Yusuke had yet to learn much of magic, even after having journeyed alongside other mages in the army for some time now. His fellow Feroxies favored had their blades, after all.

As Yusuke continued to contemplate his companion’s features, something else caught his attention from the corner of his eye- the brush he had just set down was quivering on its ledge.

“It should be self-cleaning now,” Akechi explained brightly, although no amount of helpful smiles could disguise the under-lying current of smugness.

“So your hexes are good for something other than killing, after all,” Yusuke said, knowing full-well that he was being unessarially harsh when thanks were more than likely  in order.

“Would you care to spar, in that case?” Akechi asked, further over-staying his welcome.

Yusuke considered the offer for a moment. Could Akechi possibly have been harboring some ulterior motive for wishing to spend time with him? The rest of the army generally went about their own business, save for the occasional muttered niceties in the mess tent.

Still, he could do with some practice against tome-wielders.

“I accept,” Yusuke agreed curtly, and once he had gathered up his sword, two made their way down to the stream that flowed nearby their current camp.

“Please do not hold yourself back,” Yusuke urged, drawing his blade while assuming stance a handful of paces from where the mage stood facing him, readying his tome. “Pretend as if I am one of the Risen.”

“You don’t feel sorry for them at all?” Akechi asked, blinking as he looked up from the tome, its momentary glow quickly fading as he failed to cast the rest of the curse.

“…No?” Yusuke replied, letting his shoulders relax. Although Akechi was a newer recruit, he had still fought alongside their band for long enough to have encountered the monstrosities numerous times. He, too, had seen their rotting teeth sink into the flesh of their fellow companions. “I hold no pity for such abominations-”

Before Yusuke could finish his thought, a crackling ball of cursed energy came hurtling straight toward his face, leaving a wiff of burnt hair in its wake as he dodged.

“You can’t fall for distractions so easily, Kitagawa!” Akechi taunted as Yusuke pulled himself back together, brandishing his katana, before rushing forward in a lunge which Akechi avoided with a graceful ease.

The sparing session continued on for some time, and although the heat of the afternoon sun -paired with a skipped morning meal- began to nag Yusuke about the possibility of calling a draw, he pushed onward. At the very least, he had the mage cornered, the heals of his boots kissing the shallows of the stream where curious minnows began to gather. What enchanting little subjects for his next round of sketches, Yusuke thought.

“ _Gah-!”_ Akechi shouted, pulling Yusuke out of his plans for the evening.

Before he knew what was happening, he was being pulled by the sleeve down into the chill of the babbling water, with only Akechi’s willowy body to break his fall onto otherwise bruising stones and pebbles.

“ _Ugh_ …” Akechi groaned, casting a glance toward the bank where his tome rested safely, not far from Yusuke’s sword. “Damn algae…”

“My apologies…” Yusuke murmured, as if he had placed the slime on the stones personally. However, although his mind knew that he should push himself up and trudge back to his tent in order to change into something dry, his body was decidedly frozen, motionless in the clear water, draped across a moderately suspicious Plegian mage.

He had been hexed.

Bewitched, spellbound.

_Cursed._

That was the only plausible explanation as to why Yusuke now found himself powerless to wrest his eyes away from the way beads of water crowning Akechi’s hair caught the setting sunlight, crimson eyes swimming with a hazy daze from the fall.

Nothing more than a simple magic trick, causing his heart to pound, mouth dry despite the water surrounding them….

 

 


End file.
